Using GIS to develop socio-economic profiles of areas adjacent to DOE facilities

The objective of the research addressed in this paper is to identify and analyze the offsite effects of DOE activities at the Savannah River Site. The paper presents the socio-economic conditions of the areas surrounding the site in order to evaluate the possible effects of DOE activities. The study employed a geographic information system (GIS) in order to evaluate spatial relationships between otherwise unrelated factors. Socio-economic data used in the study are publicly available and were obtained mainly from the Bureau of the Census. The Department of Energy (DOE), currently dealing with the environmental management of a large number of sites throughout the United States, must consider the effects of its activities on surrounding populations and ensure compliance with the various federal regulations, such as the executive order on environmental justice. Environmental justice is the process of studying and achieving equal distribution of the effects of environmental pollution on populations across social and economic lines. An executive order signed by the President has directed federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, to make achieving environmental justice a part of the agency's mission by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations